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By Alex Frazier
Life’s always interesting.Some days you wake up and nothing can go wrong.
Then there are those other days.
Not much has gone wrong for the Central Bucks East lacrosse team this year.
But the Patriots had one of “those days” Tuesday in the PIAA state semifinals against defending state champion Conestoga.
Nothing exemplified that any more than the final play of the first half.
Conestoga called time out with about three seconds left. When play started in the Pioneers’ end on the right sideline, defenseman Jamie Ikeda sprinted across midfield and winged a Hail Mary shot from 33 yards out that bounced off the turf and past a surprised Harrison Holak with just 0.4 seconds on the clock.
It was going to be a long afternoon.
The Pioneers were no strangers to East. The two teams had met May 26 in the District One finals. East had forged a 3-2 halftime lead before falling 10-4.
This time around it was all Conestoga, as the Pioneers built an 8-0 halftime advantage enroute to a 14-4 victory to end an otherwise scintillating season for the Patriots, who finished at 22-3.
“We put our heart into it,” said senior midfielder Conor McSherry. “We gave everything we got. It wasn’t the result we were looking for.”
Coach Bruce Garcia put a positive spin on it. “Look how far we got,” he said. “When we started, we weren’t on anyone’s radar. Slowly but surely as we went through the season, people started to think maybe….”
To see just how far the Patriots came, you have to look no further than the quarterfinal round when they avenged their first and only regular season loss of the year to Allentown Central Catholic with a convincing 9-6 win.
Tuesday’s game against Conestoga wasn’t indicative of the level of play the Patriots have achieved.
Twenty-five turnovers and 12 penalties certainly aren’t typical of this East team. Against a squad as good as Conestoga, the result is disastrous. The Pioneers took advantage of penalties to score four man-up goals. Two of those came with two East players in the box.
East tried to rally itself at halftime.
“The main thing we talked about is not letting up,” said senior defenseman Weston French. “Eight-nothing is a huge deficit, but it’s not impossible to win. There’s no point in giving up if it was going to be your last game. The main thing we tried to instill in everyone was to give 100 percent at all times. We were playing for pride at that point.”
Early in the second half, it appeared as though East might get back in the game. At 1:08 in the third quarter, Parker Self picked up the ricochet of teammate Warren Kuhn’s shot that hit the goal post and beat Robbie Zonino.
Ryan Whitney made it two in a row when he scored with 9:20 left in the third.
“Some kids on the team never looked down, like Ryan Whitney and Parker Self,” said McSherry. “They kept everyone’s head in the game. I give them credit. It’s hard to do when you’re down 8-0.”
But play on both sides went downhill from there, as both teams were assessed six penalties in a sloppy third quarter. Unfortunately, the Pioneers took advantage to score three extra-man goals and go up 11-2 at the end of the third.
“Penalties definitely don’t help when you’re trying to make a comeback,” said French.
One area of the game East dominated was faceoffs. The Patriots won 17 of 19, with Sean Reilly playing a hand in all of them and singlehandedly winning 14.The problem was that East couldn’t take advantage of the situation once gaining possession. A bad pass here, a missed shot there led to turnovers and missed opportunities.
“One thing our team does well is come out with intensity every game,” said French, who will be playing lacrosse next year at Sienna. “I don’t know whether it was a case of us being a little jittery from being in the final four of the state playoffs or whether it was just one of those days. Conestoga is a very good team and came out 100 percent to play. We weren’t able to bounce back.”
One game doesn’t make a season. Despite the lopsided loss, the Patriots can be proud of what they have accomplished.
“Going into the season, we knew we could make it this far and possibly further,” said French. “The main thing we wanted to show everyone was that we could play with the best teams in the state and country. Getting this far proves that. Obviously the result didn’t show that today, but on any other day the score could be different.”
This year the Patriots graduate 13 seniors, most of whom have either been playing together or against each other on youth teams since sixth grade.
“We’ve become like brothers to each other,” said McSherry. “I’m not going to forget any of them.”
They are a special group to Garcia. Like a father sending his son off to college, Garcia is saying his farewell to his extended family.
“Hopefully the seniors walk away with more than they came in with,” he said. “I’m beside myself when I see a senior class leave, knowing that I would never have met those 12 or 13 guys had it not been for lacrosse.
Garcia didn’t want to dwell on the game.
“We made it here,” he noted. “Everyone else hung their cleats up three or four weeks ago. Just the sheer fact that we got here is an accomplishment in itself.”
Considering the East program is still in its infancy (10 years) compared to the likes of Central League teams such as Conestoga, the Patriots have made it to the semifinals twice in the last five years.
Garcia didn’t want to end with a cliché like “there’s always next year.”
Instead he said, “Maybe in another 10.”
Conestoga 4 4 3 3—14
C.B. East 0 0 2 2—4
Goals
First quarter: Billy Flatley (Co), Tyler Brooke (Co) Connor Frisina assist, Charlie Hildebrand (Co) Frisina assist, Frisina (Co)
Second quarter: Tanner Scott (Co) Frisina assist, Bradlee Lord (Co), Scott (Co) Adam Goins assist, Jamie Ikeda (Co)
Third quarter: Parker Self (CBE), Ryan Whitney (CBE), Kyle Morrison (Co) Frisina assist, Flatley (Co) Scott assist, Frisina (Co) Flatley assist
Fourth quarter: Jordan Klunder (Co) Morrison assist, Self (CBE), Morrison (Co) Hildebrand assist, Matt Hein (CBE) Whitney assist, Hildebrand (Co) Miles Thomas assist
Saves
Conestoga: John Lopes 8, Robbie Zonino 6
Central Bucks East: Harrison Holak 9, Sean McSherry 1
Shots
Conestoga 45, Central Bucks East 25
Faceoffs
Conestoga 2, Central Bucks East 17
Penalties
Conestoga 7, Central Bucks East 12
Turnovers
Conestoga 17, Central Bucks East 25
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